Rob Clayton was announced as the Head Men's and Women's Head Coach at Elmira College on January 10, 2018, with a well-versed background as a tennis professional, private instructor, coach and All-Conference student-athlete.
Most recently, Clayton spent the past year as a teaching professional for Cliff Drysdale Tennis at a pair of pristine resorts – the Bachelor Gulch Village in Avon, Colorado, and the Omni Amelia Island Plantation in Fernandina Beach, Florida. As a part of Cliff Drysdale's Tennis Professional Advancement program at Amelia Island and as the Director of Tennis at Bachelor Gulch, Clayton organized camps and clinics and taught private lessons for all age groups. Founded by and the namesake of the International Tennis Hall of Famer, Cliff Drysdale Tennis is a national organization that specializes in tennis program development, daily tennis operations, and tennis management for resorts, hotels, and private clubs.
Clayton also spent five summers as a teaching professional at the renowned Sea Pines Racquet Club, an award-winning tennis center located in one of the sport's hotbeds in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. That included work at the Smith Sterns Tennis Academy, co-owned by former world No. 1 and Hall of Famer Stan Smith, where he conducted clinics and lessons for several college-bound junior players. Clayton also boasts similar experience as an assistant pro at the Highland Country Club in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
As a student-athlete at Methodist University, Clayton twice garnered USA South All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades and was named a USA South All-Conference Scholar Athlete in each of his four undergraduate year. The Avon Lake, Ohio, native is the still program's all-time record holder for doubles wins (55) and helped the Monarchs win 17 matches in both his junior and senior campaigns.
Clayton graduated from Methodist's Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program with a B.S. in Business Administration in 2013, before returning to his alma mater to earn an MBA with a concentration in Organizational Leadership. As a graduate student, he served as an assistant coach for the Monarchs men's and women's tennis teams, the latter of which advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament in the 2013-14 season.
In addition to his PTM degree, Clayton is certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) as an Elite Professional and by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) as a Master Professional. He also possesses Sports Science Level I certification from the United State Tennis Association (UTSA).
